


The Red Thread of Fate | MEANIE O.S.

by chweaus



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band), SHINee
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Character Death, F/M, Fantasy, Fate & Destiny, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mention of blood, Minor Character Death, Red String of Fate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-11-22 07:16:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20870315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chweaus/pseuds/chweaus
Summary: «An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstances. The thread can stretch or contract, but never break.»





	The Red Thread of Fate | MEANIE O.S.

**Author's Note:**

> (Please, if you don't like these couples don't comment anything unpleasant)
> 
> ⚠The Spanish version is also mine.  
⚠ Work totally mine, adaptations aren't allowed.
> 
> "Rules" necessary to avoid confusion:
> 
> ►The thread connects those who are destined to meet.
> 
> ► Time, place or circumstances don't matter.
> 
> ►The thread can be stretched or contracted.
> 
> ►The thread can never be broken.
> 
> ►Only 1 in 1000 people in the world can be born with the gift of seeing the red thread.
> 
> ►This gift isn't hereditary.
> 
> ►These kinds of people are highly sought after (to guide people to their other extremes), but they are also killed for the same thing (since some people don't like what they find).
> 
> ►If a family member is born with the gift of seeing the red thread of destiny, he must be taken to The Red Temples. 
> 
> ► Ironically, people with the gift aren't able to see their own thread.
> 
> ►One end of the thread is able to perceive the emotions of the other end.

**「Only chapter.」**

_«An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time,_

_place or circumstances. The thread can stretch or contract, but never break»._

* * *

** _The night had just fallen, bringing with it a layer of snow in the northern areas of the continent. The sky, clear and with an occasional breeze blowing among the trees, was mostly illuminated by the great moon, which was at its best thanks to the inclination of the earth in the month of October: the time of the year where you could better appreciate this natural satellite._ **

** _From the earth, the moon was worthy of a photograph; but from the moon, it was quite an enchanting spectacle to appreciate how small human souls roamed the world in search of their worth._ **

** _An old-fashioned old man, dressed in a white robe of unknown material, was sitting preparing for the time he had to go down to do his job. For some time now, he'd been observing a few pairs of souls who shouldn't, for any reason, lose each other in that beautiful -but at the same time terrible -world._ **

** _He prepared skeins of his scarlet thread in his pocket tied at the waist and threw himself with a simple sigh toward the Earth. When he fell, as he always did, humans always thought he was a shooting star passing by._ **

** _He did his work without any interruption:_ **

** _Find, tie, fly ... find, tie, And repeat._ **

** _It could be complicated if the baby wasn't born yet, but it never became a problem. Sometimes he stopped to contemplate the future of those babies who, for the most part, were too far apart from their other end for his liking. He came and went, from city to country, and from island to desert._ **

** _Very rarely he could find a special baby born with the gift of seeing the thread, when that happened and he was about to tie the thread to that certain baby, the newborn managed to see the man. It had always seemed a shame when he met a gifted soul; he had to touch his forehead so that he could nullify the baby own thread._ **

** _It broke his heart to do it, but it was necessary for the balance of the world..._ **

* * *

He hugs his legs curling up, feeling the tide of tears reach his eyes. Again he had that devastating feeling that wrapped his heart in a thick layer of sadness.

Minutes that seemed like hours went by without him leaving that position until the horrible and painful mist left his heart. What followed, however, was the immense helplessness he always felt after those pains.

_ Why did it burn so much? _

_ What or who was the cause of him feeling this empty and desolate? _

_ There was no point in crying without knowing the reason ... But that's what he was doing. _

The minutes passed when he just stared at the infinite, listening as his heart beats at a leisurely pace.

Already sitting on his bed, sheltering from the cold night with that indigo blanket of his, he reached out to reach the small blue bottle that rested on his nightstand. He held with one of his little hands the electric blue pill that he calmly removed from the container and with his other limb reached a glass that was always filled with water at night when he couldn't see. It took him a second to pass the medicine down his throat with the help of water.

As always, it was bitter.

His parents had paid a total of five psychiatrists to try to make their son better. All of them had prescribed the same anti-depressant medicine, more doses ... fewer doses, but they never gave results.

He was already tired of trying to suppress that... doing it more for his anguished parents than even for himself. It had been months since he started pretending he no longer had those "episodes" as his parents had named them. They thought that his improvement was because of those medicines, and it was better that they continue to think so.

He glanced at the alarm clock next to the glass bowl on the nightstand. He woke up again in the early morning. It was no more than 4:00 am, and soon his parents would wake up and come to check that he was quietly asleep in his blankets. He lets out a sigh, tired. How much more time would have to pass to find the reason of the suffering?

He went to his window and ran the curtains on both sides of it. The stars looked dim because of the large amount of electrical energy that had illuminated streets and avenues, shops and departments.

But that didn't stop Mingyu from seeing the beautiful constellations that always accompanied him in his insomnia. Moreover, he could say that he had made himself - in some strange way - a friend of those star sets: he already knew their names, their meaning and even (with their favorite stars) the distance between the star and the earth.

“Polaris ... this is the fifth time that happens in a single day …” He whispered hoarsely to one of his favorites among the bright spots that were seen in the sky. “I can deal with the pain when I'm in my room but ... What if it happens to me in front of my parents?”

He stayed a little longer watching the few clouds float across the sky as if they were running a sports marathon. Suddenly, Mingyu began to hear a creaking door and a few muted steps. His parents? He thought it hadn't been long since he had woken up. Frightened, he glanced at his alarm clock ... 4:30 am. it had been just half an hour!

One of his parents had woken up earlier than usual and were likely to walk straight to the boy's room. He almost slammed into his bed, trying to make as little noise as possible and trying to calm his heart when he was already covered between the sheets.

He took a deep breath as he closed his eyes abruptly and buried his face in the pillow. Not even half a minute passed when the sound of his bedroom door was opened with a simple click. He felt the presence of one of his parents approaching his bed and stopping at his side.

“You're still asleep …” said the nearby voice that he identified as his mother's quiet iconic tone. He heard how the glass vessel was filled with water and how his mother returned in his steps and closed the door as quietly as possible.

As soon as he rectified that she wouldn't enter again, the dark-haired boy still stood up in his bed, watching strangely at the entrance of his room. It was totally new to hear how in their parents' room they began to prepare for another day, but earlier than usual ... You could hear how they arranged things from one side to the other.

Almost an hour passed and there was still movement on the other side of the door.

He tried to ignore all the hustle and bustle in the other room, thinking that perhaps his parents were looking again for his mother's pin - essential for his office work - between his dressing table and the wall, and waited for them to wake him up. The sun made an appearance, but his parents didn't appear.

A dry slam was what ended all that sound. The whole place went silent and the curiosity to know what was happening ended up causing Mingyu to put on the first shoes he found and go see what was happening.

As soon as he opened the door he found his mother on the floor surrounded by a puddle - which was beginning to form - of a dark liquid that shortly thereafter he understood it was blood. His heart skipped a beat when he saw such a scene and unconsciously whined "Mom" as he began to rush to her.

When the door of his room opened in its entirety, he found a man with his face barely covered by a black scarf, which he combined with his other attire, and had noticed his presence. Mingyu stopped dead and the man turned to see him with a knife in his hand. The boy stepped back to his room, fearing the man in front of him now.

“Yang, here’s the boy,” he roared in a low voice. He received no response, so he returned his attention to the brunette, smiling wildly toward the latter. “Come here little one, to accompany your mom …”

Mingyu reacted just as the man swung his knife near his face, making a cut on his cheek. The boy went into his room and with all his strength he closed the door, making sure and positioning his bedside table against it. The man's laughter was heard with a clear "that won't do you any good, brat", making Mingyu feel his blood freezing. He wasted no time and ran throughout his room storing clothes, money, and medicine in the first backpack that crossed his path.

On the other side of the door, the man was already struggling with the lock. Mingyu turned to the only possible exit and ran towards it. The window of his room overlooked the front yard of his house, it was on the second floor, but that didn’t prevent the boy from quickly going out there. As he went down, through the tiles that covered his house, he could hear how his door was knocked down hard, they would surely try to throw it away.

He turned to see how far the ground was from his position, they seemed no more than three meters ... so he dropped. The impact on his back caused him to lose some air, but the adrenaline he was feeling helped him get up despite the pain and he started running. He moved as far away from his home as he could, fleeing from those bad and strange people.

He stopped at last, when his legs begged to rest, in front of a market that began to fill with vendors of different types of food. He looked around his surroundings, trying to know where he was, but he was afraid of being lost. The sun was already rising from the buildings and people were starting to leave their homes. He pondered things by sitting next to a lady's stall and an older seller of aromatic plants and vegetables.

“You are at the Jagalchi market, boy.” The old woman next to him answered the question not asked, while still arranging a few carrots in their corresponding basket. Mingyu thanked her in a whisper and hugged his legs, thinking that he had run to get to the coast of the city - which usually had half an hour by car - and that he was in the market he always went with his family to shop for Christmas dinner. The old woman seemed to smile at the turnips she was cleaning but kept talking to the boy.

“Although today you have not come together with your mother, as you always do.”

It was then that he recognized the old saleswoman who always brought cabbage for his mother's special soup.

His mother...

His heart shrunk and he finally ended up shedding the tears he had been holding so far. The lady, who waited patiently for him to finish crying, held out one of her rags to clean turnips that were still clean and he could dry her face. Surprisingly, because he wasn't used to being this open with strangers, he told the old woman about what happened to her. She was silent throughout the story and did not respond with an "oh, I see" until Mingyu paused to show him the backpack he had taken from the home.

The lady brought him an apple watching him hug his hungry stomach, realizing that the young man in front of her had not even been able to have breakfast. Mingyu devoured the fruit, but not before thanking the lady again.

The boy asked the saleswoman if it was possible for him to stay a little longer with her before leaving and the aforementioned didn’t refuse, so he sat next to her and helped her clean the missing turnips.

_ I was totally alone... _

What would he do now? Should he go home ...? He had no relatives to call for help ... He was very sure he should return home, but the doubt removed that option from his head ... What would happen if he returned and those men were still there? No ... he had to go home.

He took the last turnip and cleaned it, then with a big sigh he tried to get up. It was time to go home ... But as soon as he could get up, he fell again in the grip of burning pain that settled in his chest.

_ No no no ... not here, please ... _ he thought.

He tried to contain the pain as he had once been able to make it work, but this suffering was much more than it had been then ... He was in a fetal position and began to hyperventilate trying to get enough air for his lungs.

Someone had taken him by the shoulders and tried to lift him, but the pain had left him both blind and deaf. He wasn't sure if he screamed because of the pain or not ... but the only thing clear was feeling the ground and collapsing in it for a second before ending in total darkness.

. . .

The first thing he could feel was the gentle breeze that was sandwiched between his fingers and subtly removed his hair. He moved enough to feel a padded material covering his entire body.

He woke up opening his eyes lazily, meeting a boy with sharp eyes very close to his own face. He opened his eyes wide and, pushing the boy away, he got up hurriedly; which he regretted instantly as the world began to spin around him.

“I wouldn't do that if I was you …” He advised the other boy in a smiling voice as he returned to his side and helped him lie down again. Mingyu watched as that pale-skinned boy covered him again in blankets and put a rag on his forehead. “You collapsed for five days and it’s the third time you have had a fever ...

“I …” He slowly turned his head and looked around, finding nothing more than wooden columns and ceilings. there were no walls or doors and it was possible to see - from its position - the beginning of a lake outside that space. After reloading his head and closing his eyes for a few seconds, he focused his attention on the boy who was now waiting sitting cross-legged at his side. “Where am I? Who are you?”

“You are in the Red Temples, you were lucky that this old woman brought you or you could have died.” He replied with a slight smile and got up, walking to one of the closest exits. "I will go to tell Jinki that you have woken up, do not move or it will hurt.”

He followed the boy with his eyes as he headed to put on some kind of slippers. Then he turned on his axis and with another smile he pronounced:

“My name is Wonwoo.”

. . .

Wonwoo had come up with the excuse of finding his leader, which he fulfilled walking in the direction of where his elder was, but he couldn’t let that boy see the cry of emotion that was burning him to leave his eyes, he had waited so long ... For years ... But now, everything had fallen into place. It had been just as his mentor, Seungcheol, had said when he had questioned him why he couldn't see his own red thread of fate.

"The old man who lives on the moon let us see the thread of other people, but to have a balance, we cannot see ours ..." He had said quietly, stroking her hair gently while resting near the lake. Wonwoo, then asked him how he would know that he had found his other end and his elder smiled at him, replying: "someday you'll find someone who doesn't have a thread. That day you will find the other end of your own thread." At that moment, he made a silent promise in the lake, to wait for the only person to whom he couldn’t see the thread.

The same lake he was surrounding at the time ... He had to wear the sleeves of his scarlet robe to be able to clean his cheeks, as soon as he reached the main courtyard. The head of the temple - Jinki- was teaching the little ones to meditate on the roots of the cherry tree that was planted in the center of the courtyard.

“Hyung,” he called the adult redhead and the man turned around giving him one of his contagious smiles, very characteristic of him. “The boy has woken up.”

Jinki nodded, telling him to wait while he told the younger ones that they could rest until he came back.

“I must assume that you have already noticed …” He spoke as low as possible as they walked straight to the room where they had left their guest. Wonwoo knew what he meant, his leader was able to see that link he had with the black-haired boy, so he nodded without saying anything. “Then, you know that at some point the time will come to tell him …”

“I know hyung …” He sighed at the idea of the stranger taking all that as a joke.

“Hey, take that face off.” Jinki pushed him lightly off his shoulder. Without realizing it, he had frowned. “You found him Wonwoo, rejoice.”

“But, what if it happens like with Seungcheol hyung?” Wonwoo's heart shrunk from sheer possibility. “What if he already has someone he loves?”

They arrived in front of the space they had designated for Wonwoo’s other end.

“That is something you will know until you speak with him.” Your elder replied. “Now, I have to chat with him. Go help Junhui with the food.”

He looked inside that room, meeting hazel eyes full of curiosity. Wonwoo looked away instantly.

“Yes, hyung …” He turned around and started walking towards the kitchens with millions of feelings still scrambled inside.

. . .

“Do you feel better?” A man of pale complexion asked him, spreading a big smile on his face and causing his eyes to turn into two slits. He had entered the side of the room he was in.

Mingyu had watched the two individuals approaching in the distance, the eldest of them had the countenance full of worry and the boy -Wonwoo- seemed on the verge of tears. Although they were in front of the place where he was resting, he couldn’t hear what they were talking about, so he watched the brown-haired boy for a moment while he listened to the red-haired man.

“I do.” He followed the chestnut boy with his eyes until he was lost among the trees, he returned his sight to the man who was now sitting next to him. “Where has he gone ... hum .. Wonwoo?”

The man laughs and looks at him curiously as he responds.

“he went to prepare the food.” Mingyu nods and remains silent, thinking about what he could say now. The elder looks at him with funny and curious eyes but remains as quiet as the younger. It was only a few minutes before Mingyu broke the silence:

“Are you Jinki ...?” He questions him shyly, but quickly shakes his head and corrects himself: “ Are you Jinki hyung?”

The redhead smiles at him as if Mingyu had been a puppy that has just turned a somersault and has seemed tender.

“Indeed,” He nodded without removing the fun from his face. “Now ... would you like to tell me what happened before Mrs. Lee brought you here?”

Mingyu got up, sitting on the bed he was in and starting to tell everything. His insomnia, the noise, his mother ... the men and how he fled ... When he was sure that he didn’t forget to tell anything, he kept silent and watched expectantly a Jinki who had remained silent throughout the story. The elder was dismayed by his story, he was surprised to see that there was no trace of any smile on Jinki's face.

“I ... could you tell me what your parents are called again boy?” Mingyu looked at him strangely. He thought Jinki would question him about his attacker's face ... but what about his parents?

“My mother's name is Byul and my father Jonghyun …” He explains, trying to understand what the man wanted to reach. -”Did you know them?”

Jinki seems to ponder his response before getting up and approaching one of the exits. He seemed to contemplate the landscape, but in reality, his head was full of memories of his former comrade. He would be lying if he said that nothing affected him to hear that one of his brothers had been attacked ... The redhead returned with distressed eyes and weighed how to say that to the son of his dear friend ...

“Your father ... Jonghyun once lived here.” Jinki spoke with difficulty, and Mingyu could perceive that it was difficult for him to speak without breaking his voice.”He was once my partner in this same temple because he could also see the red thread …”

“I always thought that legend was that: a legend …”

“I never understood why your father never told you that it was real …”

He remained silent, trying to respect the feelings of that man he was watching fight not to shed any tears. His father could see the thread that united people ... He didn't know what to think or feel about it. That ... was it bad? Good? Mingyu had no idea...

It wasn't until the redhead sat down and extended his arm to rest his hand on one of his shoulders.

“Mingyu, listen well …” The man pleaded. “In this world, there are people who think we are a threat to them. There are people who don’t believe in fate or in the thread and think that if they eliminate their future, it will be their decision …” He paused to shake his head. “But they don’t realize that their decisions and actions are what leads them to a different destination from the one they want …”

“Are you telling me that someone hated my father and that's why they ...?” He paused trying (uselessly) not to be affected by the word that, honestly, he didn't want. “... murdered my mother?”

“I don't think that they hated them Mingyu …” He let out a long sigh. “I think they feared him.”

A small part of him told him that he hadn’t seen his father … well, his body as he had been with his mother's ... The idea of thinking that was twisting his heart ... but what if. ..? No. He knew that, despite having that little hope, in his heart, he knew that if what Jinki said was true, they would most likely have ... killed him ... first.

Before they could say anything else, in the distance, a bell could be heard ringing and several people passing in front of where they were.

“That's the call for food,” he got up with a smile and pointed to a pile of folded clothes that rested on one of the corners of the room. “As soon as you change, you will accompany us to eat, you must be hungry.”

He just nodded as he waited for Jinki to leave the room so he could put on those clothes. Once wrapped in the scarlet suit that everyone wore there, he went out to meet Wonwoo with his back to him, removing the dried leaves from the ground.

“Ehm …” He cleared his throat, startling the palest. “Hello.”

“Oh,” exclaimed the chestnut-haired boy when he saw that Mingyu was watching. Watching Jinki, surely. Before answering, Wonwoo looked at him with curious eyes, hungry for knowledge about the boy in front of him. “Jinki had to deal with some issues, but I'll show you the way.”

“Okay.” It was the only thing that could come out of Mingyu's mouth, being guided by Wonwoo between tree corridors and cobblestone roads. They walked in a silence that never became uncomfortable. Even without them noticing, both observed each other when the other didn’t see, it seemed that their eyes fled the opposite.

It took a very short time to reach a patio, full of tables arranged in rows, which began to fill with people who seemed to want to attack those dishes that varied between chicken soup, salads, fried rice or juicy meat in pieces waiting to be eaten.

Soon, Wonwoo told him where a couple of seats were still available and they sat down. waiting for all the residents of those temples to finish accommodating in their respective places.

Mingyu spotted Jinki among the other tables, the head of the place talked with a man who seemed to have the same age range as that redhead and unlike the latter, he wore a totally blond hair. They seemed to have a very pleasant talk and from time to time the man -unknown to the boy- deposited small pieces of food in Jinki's rice bowl. That gesture seemed affectionate and somehow he sensed that it was natural between those two, as if it were a reflection instead of a premeditated action.

“You're not eating anything …” Wonwoo whispered in a low voice, leaving a piece of meat on his plate, and smiling at him, “You must eat well now that you are coming out of fever …”

At that moment he realized that this boy had to take care of him all the time he was unconscious.

“I ... My name is Mingyu, Kim Mingyu.” The sharp-eyed boy watched him for a moment while chewing, the brunette kept talking. “Thank you for taking care of me while, you know ... I was sick.”

No more than half a minute passed in which the brown-haired lost all expressions on his face and Mingyu began to wonder if the boy had really heard him when Wonwoo nodded and returned his eyes to the food he ate.

Both continued eating. One, trying with all his might not to smile without reason and the other thinking that perhaps, he would no longer be as alone as he had said before ...

After a while, almost at the end of the meal, the chestnut declared:

"His name is Kibum, the man sitting next to Jinki." He pointed in the direction in which the men were holding hands while they finished eating.

“they are...?”

“Partners.” The pale completed while staring at him, trying to read the boy's expressions, trying to read if the raven accepted or not those preferences, fearing a face full of disgust for those kinds of tastes. But contrary to his fears, Mingyu smiled brightly, exposing a pretty fang in his view.

“They look great together…” He commented cheerfully while swallowing a little more rice.

Something stirred inside Wonwoo as if the food that had just passed through his throat was tasteless to him. He noticed how that unknown feeling was taking over every cell in his body until he felt completely oblivious to everything. He was sure that the cause of all that was that smile, but he wasn't ready to admit it.

. . .

Months passed until spring arrived. The birds sang in the forest, the trees were covered with beautiful leaves of different shades of green and, Wonwoo and Mingyu had created a very close relationship, one could say that of best friends. Despite all the good things that were going on, Wonwoo was still having horrible pains, maybe a little duller than before ... Mingyu, on the other hand, had thrown away his pills, since, although he admitted it bitterly, he didn't need them more to look good. In addition, the pain had decreased to the extent of being able to withstand it anywhere.

At that time, when everything was so quiet and dark, Mingyu was focusing his sight on the wooden ceiling, which prevented him from seeing the clear sky he had seen all afternoon while Wonwoo read beside him.

He sighed heavily. Wonwoo hyung ... That boy had made him think again that he had a family ... Maybe not a blood family, but he had met all those who lived in The Red Temples and were the friendliest people he had known in all his life. Apart from Wonwoo, he had made a friendship with that boy named Junhui and his boyfriend, Minghao. His sharp-eyed friend had told him that, although that pair was intertwined by the thread, he used to see them fight for things like who kept whose sweater. Mingyu himself found it hilarious to witness one of the many "fights" of that duo.

He remembered, with a certain smile forming on his lips, how he had asked Wonwoo where his other end of the thread was.

“I won't tell you,” he had told him that time when they tended their freshly washed clothes. “I'm taking pity on the poor guy who has to be tied to you …”

“Hyung!” The brunette had complained, hitting him with the garment he held in his hands. “Don't be mean!” 

Wonwoo had shaken his head, even though Mingyu insisted.

“I won’t tell you,” he purposely handed one of the clothes on his friend's shoulder. “It goes against the rules.”

“... rules ....” He repeated the word with a pout and suddenly remembered with hope: “But you told me about Junhui and Minghao!”

Wonwoo considered it for a moment to answer.

“When I find it, I'll tell you.” That said, his friend had turned and left the place. Leaving a Mingyu happy, because he still had someone tied to him ... at least for fate.

from that moment, when Jinki sent them both to buy the ingredients for the meal or when they could go to a nearby shopping plaza, Wonwoo had to endure the constant questions of the brunette.

"Is it him?"

"How about her?"

"Are you sure it's not him?"

Wonwoo always denied in silence, observing the expectations that Mingyu didn’t know he was imposing on the elder. While the other didn’t think it was a problem the lack of jokes of the major at those times.

The brunette stopped remembering and left his room to "chat" with his friends the stars. He took one of the big rocks near the lake as an impromptu seat and began contemplating the stars. He didn't speak to them, he just let time pass while he kept his eyes fixed on the night sky. He had not talked to the stars for a long time because, now, all his concerns were discussed with Wonwoo. He had always talked to the stars from his bedroom window. In his old home, where he had grown up ...

A nostalgia invaded Mingyu's heart and rose from his seat to walk determinedly towards a certain room in the northern part of the place.

"Hyung." He asked in a whisper loud enough, opening the door of the elder's room. At first, he thought he hadn't heard it until the chestnut hid his head with the blanket he was covered in. “Hyung, it's important.”

The brunette received a hoarse growl in response. Seeing that the boy seemed not wanting to leave, he poked his head out of his warm blanket and sighed, surrendering and waking up completely.

“What do you want at this time?” He questioned him, pretending to be upset about being awakened. The brunette did not know that he had seen him contemplate the stars and then walked to his room so that he later pretended to be completely asleep. “Let me sleep.”

“I want to go back to my house.” Thus, without more, he let out the contained air.

Wonwoo remains static almost like an ancient statue... with his heart beginning to break into small fragments, thinking that perhaps (despite having spent so much time together) Mingyu preferred his old home.

“I mean going back to see what things I can save.” He clarified with some panic, understanding the reason for the sadness that began to furrow the chestnut's face, indicating that, what Wonwoo had understood, was that Mingyu wanted to leave the Temples. He denied at that scene because in reality, he already considered the Temples his home and he didn’t plan to leave. “I won't leave, hyung.”

Wonwoo let out the air, relieved. And he nodded, unable to refuse.

...

It was past midnight, and it was insanely cold. The first thing Wonwoo knew was that he was getting ready to sneak out of the temple, and the next thing he knew resulted in him stopping in front of a huge house that was surrounded by yellow police tape next to a nervous Mingyu.

“Everything ... hmm ... okay?” Wonwoo worried how much it would affect all that, although the brunette had assured him that he would be fine, he didn’t believe him at all ... So the chestnut had to turn to see Mingyu, making sure that the boy on his left wasn’t about to have a nervous breakdown.

They finally entered the house when they were able to pass the tapes that prohibited their passage. Wonwoo walked a few steps, entering the house, behind Mingyu. The latter began to tell him - while they continued walking towards the child's room - how he knew perfectly the distribution of the house, drawing random anecdotes of any object he remembered. Wonwoo just listened carefully, answering a minimum of "hmm" and "oh."

Soon they reached the second floor, Mingyu had stopped so abruptly that Wonwoo had to squeeze his shoulder to make him continue. He already knew what had happened and where it had happened, so he didn't have to ask anything that made Mingyu feel horrible. Instead, with a bit of grief and thanking the darkness that covered them, he locked Mingyu’s pinky with his and, sensing what the boy's room was, pulled the boy toward that door, entering so slowly that Wonwoo noticed that all those things scattered on the floor revealed a facet of Mingyu that he never saw until that moment.

With a little squeeze of pinkies, Mingyu separated from his side and began to walk around his old room. They had taken with them a bag each, to carry all the things that the brunette wanted to keep near him, and that the latter mentioning began to fill with things like clothes, books, and toys for the little children of the Temples.

It didn't take long in reality, in fact, they were already in front of the brunette's house: Wonwoo a few steps away, and Mingyu silently said goodbye to his house.

If it weren't because Wonwoo noticed how the boy's shoulders began to shake uncontrollably, he would never have come near and guessed that Mingyu cried covering his face with both hands.

“Hey …” Wonwoo took the opposite hands with enough force to remove them from the face of the youngest. Mingyu felt embarrassed in front of the major and the latter could not help smiling at the other's tenderness. “I know it's hard, but you'll get ahead. You are Kim Mingyu.”

The brunette, to Wonwoo's surprise, took him by the hand and looked away, extremely embarrassed.

“I'm sure that afterward, you will laugh at me because you have seen me cry …” He declared in a pout, still looking aside.

One of Wonwoo's hands stretched before he even thought about it and grabbed the other's chin, forcing Mingyu to see him directly in the eyes. Those chocolate-colored eyes were fixed on the opposites and, thanks to the proximity, he could appreciate his own face.

He didn't have enough strength to try not to do anything he could regret later ... That is, last week he almost told him about the connection they had and just for jealousy. Mingyu had made him understand how much he liked to talk to that boy named Jungkook ... He, without explaining to Mingyu, had been angry, telling him pointless things and almost revealing his secret. He couldn't do it ... he shouldn't do it ...

But seeing him so fragile in spite of all that masculine complexion ... Wonwoo's heart was shrinking when he saw him so sore and he was weak to those useless gestures of the highest to try to disappear that blush on his cheeks.

“Mingyu, the weaknesses are totally human, I won’t make fun of you. that you have demonstrated a weakness in front of me…” He let the words disappear into the air and, instead, took the face of the tallest with both hands, approaching until their foreheads collided. “I want to be able to see all your facets, Kim Mingyu.”

A sepulchral silence surrounded them, their breaths intermingled, Mingyu felt a terrible desire to get closer to his hyung ... He lightly brushed those lips and couldn’t reason more: he did it. The taller one pressed his mouth against the opposite, causing Wonwoo a sigh of surprise. What the hell was going on? but that question was very buried in the boy's mind, while he surrounded the neck of the tallest with his arms, after all, the palest had dreamed of this scene for weeks ...

They both barely felt the raindrops begin to fall on them, but they didn't care. One was feeling a burning impossible to ignore for doing that, because for days he had realized the feelings he had for the elder ... Well, the other felt every sign of sanity disappear because of everything he was feeling at that time.

Actually, it wasn't a kiss from those you see in romantic movies ... from those that take your breath away or that ruffles your hair ... No. It was more like ... like a little way of saying what they couldn’t say. they could express it ...

The rain increased to the point that they had to separate. They looked at each other for enough seconds to realize what had just happened and, as if they had agreed, they looked away completely blushed and hurried to cover themselves with the rain and walk silently to the subway station that leads back to the Temples.

...

The following days, according to Wonwoo, were diffuse except for the fact that Mingyu wasn’t leaving his side. He looked more lively and even playful. He blushed as soon as he remembered how the taller one began to kiss him more and more often as if they had made a silent pact on that night at the house of the brunette with their feelings to the contrary.

The chestnut felt about to get sick, but it didn't matter. He didn't think it would happen anymore until one day he woke up with a terrible sore throat and a severe headache. That day Mingyu had found him made a ball covered with blankets and didn’t want to go out either at breakfast or at lunch. Mingyu, understanding that Wonwoo was sick, took him and moved into the elder's bedroom to take care of him.

Mingyu continued to take him from the pinky, gradually beginning to develop feelings for Wonwoo in a romantic way. The raven smiled every time he got home from his duties to take care of him and took his time to check if there was any improvement. He kissed him softly, although the elder complained - reminding him that he could infect him. Mingyu always told him what he had done during the day while they sat down to eat together. And when Wonwoo claimed that he had already healed, a loud sneeze belied him, making the brunette laugh out loud.

“I feel good, Mingyu,” Wonwoo frowned as he watched Mingyu trying to control his laughter. ”you don't have to take care of me anymore …”

"You are the worst liar in the hyung world," replied the tallest, now calmer, while shaking his head. “You still look pretty sick tho…”

“I'm telling you that I really feel much better,” he replied, extending the last words. Mingyu looked at him seriously and left the subject, as if not wanting to argue about something unnecessary.

Jinki had come, so did the others ... they talked to Wonwoo and he just stayed silent, sitting in one of the corners of his room, taking care Wonwoo wasn’t disturbed so much ... "It's a simple flu, just It's lasting longer than normal," Jinki had said in one of those times, but he didn't think so, they all said Wonwoo would recover soon ... but he didn't see any improvement in the state the chestnut was in. Mingyu - at the bottom of his heart - feared it was something bigger.

Wonwoo claimed to feel better, but it really wasn't. He felt strange. the flu was still there and seemed not wanting to leave the boy. he felt that something was wrong ... One night he couldn't sleep, he remembered: His illness and, more importantly, the promise he had sworn to Seungcheol that he would never break. He brought both hands to his chest, where his heart was beating.

there was a great possibility that this time it was different ... He recalled that Mingyu had insisted on buying him different types of flu medicine, claiming that he would surely feel better if he drank more than tea and soup. He straightened from his bed as quietly as he could because Mingyu was asleep comfortably a couple of steps from him. On his way to his medicine, he paused for a moment to contemplate how angelic Mingyu looked when he slept. It was inexplicable how a human like him existed, and even more, so that he was tied to his own little finger.

He resumed his way to find the medicine that the brunette had brought him. He had to search through several types of medicine until he found the one he had taken a few years ago. Then he returned to his bed and covered his shoulders with his duvet.

An idea crossed his mind, a dreadful presumption that took away the little sleep he had gotten by taking the medicine.

_ If it happened again? _

_ If he had to go to the hospital again? _

_ If ... he couldn't get on time this time? _

He flatly denied himself. No. It was not going to happen, the medicine had been taken and it should take effect in a few more minutes.

But...

Wonwoo watched the slow breathing of the boy who accelerated his heart frantically. Better safe than sorry ... he thought to himself. He searched his desk until he found a notebook that should belong to Mingyu, turned the pages until he found an empty one and took the first pen that crossed his path. He looked back at the brunette, let out a small sigh full of melancholy and began writing.

...

The burning in his chest brought him out of his sleep abruptly. Mingyu felt himself spin and bump into something hard. He was totally clueless and had no idea what was happening to him. His torso burned like hell and his head was pounding too hard. He screamed heartbreakingly, he was sure he did, but he wasn’t able to hear anything, his ears seemed to have been covered. He could barely focus his eyes, but he managed to distinguish Wonwoo in all that mess.

“Won …” His lips pronounced with anguish. The boy was the one who collided with him, but this one, instead of turning on himself or at least waking up, was curled up with his back to Mingyu. He made a thousand and one effort to get on his knees to observe how in reality, Wonwoo was not asleep, curled up with his eyes closed tightly. “Wonwoo …” He could be heard saying, almost whining, as if he were far away from there.

He tried to go against the pain ... mentally compress it with the hope that it didn't hurt so much. But the agony was causing him to shed a sea of tears, he had to step aside and fall on the ground so as not to fall on the chestnut because his legs were failing from lack of strength that was taking away his balance.

_ It's too much ... _he thought, begging any god to stop this at once.

He felt how everything was gradually blurring, dragging him more and more into absolute darkness.

...

It took him a second to remember what had happened and he straightened up as soon as he had enough strength to do so. He had fallen unconscious and perhaps his body was claiming him for having collapsed on the cold and hard ground.

The pain was gone, yes, but a feeling of emptiness filled his heart. Wonwoo ... Frantic, he looked around the room, finding Wonwoo in the same position he had seen him the night before. With his heart in his hand, he approached the major crawling on the floor until he reached him.

“Wonwoo …” Mingyu shook him by the shoulders, but showed no signs… “WONWOO, WAKE UP. “ He shook him a little harder but only made his fear - in which he didn’t want to think - get bigger and bigger.

He discovered, with some bewilderment, a letter locked in the chestnut's hands. On the front "Mingyu" was read with the perfect calligraphy of the chestnut ...

“It can't be …” He said in a voice, dropping the letter to precede checking the boy's pulse, fearing the worst and ... something inside him broke. His whole body tensed instantly. He couldn't find Wonwoo's pulse ... He checked several times, desperate to find the pulse ...

Wonwoo couldn't ... shouldn't ...

“No ... don’t die, please .... you are …” A lump formed in his throat. “You are the only thing left…”

Nothing.

“Please ... no …” He pressed the boy's motionless body with his arms, squeezing it so hard it hurt. He should, he should take him to the hospital, that was. He gathered what he still had the strength to shout at the top of his lungs. “HELP, SOMEONE, PLEASE.”

but I was afraid that nobody would arrive. I was afraid it was too late ...

“Wonwoo ... Wonwoo ...” He repeated like crazy, rocking while still hugging the chestnut's head. Mingyu took his pinky, longing for the boy to reciprocate his pinky grip. “Wonwoo ... Wonwoo ... no ... please …”

He takes the letter in his hands, not knowing what to do ...

He rested Wonwoo's head carefully back to his pillow and continued to open the letter ...

_ "For Kim Mingyu: _

_ Mingyu, if you are reading this it means that ... I found it Mingyu~ I found your other half. Maybe it took me a while to tell you and he is far away for a while, but don't be afraid because you just have to wait. You will meet again at the right time. I promise. _

_ He ... had a pretty tough childhood. He never met his biological parents, and never had a place to call home. He escaped from the orphanage where he was beaten at a very early age and lived on the street for a long time until he met a nice guy named Seungcheol, he invited a piece of his steamed bun and he always thanked him for that gesture. He told Seungcheol that he could see a scarlet thread being tangled (seeing how a fight was developing not far from where they were) and he looked at him in amazement. He took him to the red temples, telling him that there, people could stay as long as they needed. In that amazing place, he had a real family for the first time. And he could say with great joy that he had true friends. _

_ He grew up there, reading endless stories with his father-like figure, Jinki looked like ... And played with those who looked like his little brothers, Hansol and Chan ... He learned to cook with Junhui and Minghao taught him to meditate on the lakeside .... Seungcheol, the one who considered an older brother whom he respected without a doubt ... He taught him about feelings and the importance of patience, never rushing something that should be done calmly, to appreciate life in those moments when one is hypnotized by the passing of the clouds in a blue sky, or hearing the raindrops fall harmoniously on the ceiling (he always thought that sound was really a sight of the future: the sound of millions of people applauding him for that life he always tried to live to the fullest.) _

_ He ... lost Seungcheol in a way that broke his heart forever ... but not long after, Jinki came to his room, telling him that he needed help taking care of a boy who had collapsed near the market where they used to buy their foods. The boy had not left his room in weeks and, at that time, the last thing he wanted was to take care of someone. But Jinki insisted, and he, thinking that, if it was an unconscious person he had to take care of, he wouldn't have to talk to anyone at all, he agreed to resign himself to that task. When he looked at the unconscious stranger in Seungcheol's old room, he noticed it instantly, since something always usual was now missing in that scene. He said nothing to anyone, not even the boy who woke up days after arriving. He didn’t want to do it, he panicked what that entailed and kept it to himself. Obviously, the others in the temple knew it, but none made any mention of that link with the stranger, and always thanked them. _

_ The stranger who he thought it would be just that - a stranger - became usual in his daily routine. That boy took an unexpected turn to the last chapter of his life. _

_ Lastly ... I have reached the last part of my letter, Mingyu ... _

_ Finally, there was something he hid from everyone ... At a certain teenage age he and Seungcheol were playing in the rain, something harmless to anyone until the boy got sick with the flu, and then, the problems came ... One ... afternoon, he began to feel immense pain in his chest, he screamed heartbreakingly and Seungcheol, who was closer at the time, took him directly to the hospital. He had been about to have a tear in the aortic artery ... and if it hadn't been for Seungcheol, he would have died right there ... _

_ The doctor forced him to return annually for a flu shot, but since his head had been thinking about a certain other boy to take care of, he didn't think the vaccine was necessary ... _

_ Mingyu, I know you for long enough, at this moment you will be lamenting something that is obviously not your fault ... Don't do it, because it isn't. It's not your fault. _

_ I don't retract anything from what I did in this life, because that would take me to you. I need that after you read this letter, you go to your favorite place near the lake, look at the sky and swear to Polaris that you will live to the fullest, that you won’t do any nonsense in my absence and that you will wait for the right time to meet again. _

_ Now you have a family here, Gyu, take care of them for me ... yes? _

_ I could never see your thread, and ... I hope I can never see it. _

_ So, please ... wait for that boy, because he is already looking for you. _

_ I love you s" _

. . . 

_ **End.** _

More notes:  
  
if you're wondering what illness did Wonwoo had (not a doctor but) it's an aortic dissection.

Also, if you haven't figured it out yet, I will give you this one: Wonwoo is the boy he's talking about in the letter and he doesn't finish the letter.

thanks for reading and I hope to see you around uwu


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